Friday, July 25, 2014

My Promise, My Faith Pin

During the week of July 21, Knotts Island United Methodist Church in Currituck County, North Carolina, hosted a special series for girls on the island to earn the Girl Scout My Promise, My Faith pin. This pin was developed by Girl Scouts of the USA to allow girls to further strengthen their connection between their faith and Girl Scouts by carefully examining the Girl Scout Law and directly tying it to tenets of her faith.

Everything that Girl Scouts do is based on the Girl Scout Promise and Law—a guiding message that teaches girls about how to act towards one another, other people and the world. It encourages girls to be honest, friendly, considerate, responsible and respectful and encompasses many other principles common to most faiths. The opportunity for girls to earn the My Promise, My Faith pin is a chance for them to take a spiritual journey through Girl Scouts.

Girls talked about each line of the Girl Scout Law and
how it relates to their own lives.

Each day during the series, the girls went over different parts of the Girl Scout Law and had discussions about how they are friendly and helpful at home, at school and in the community, talked about people they look up to as role models and how they can be a role model for others and shared ideas about how to be good stewards of the planet and its natural resources. They kept track of their thoughts, discussions and inspirational quotes in a journal that they made during their first meeting.

The girls also worked on fun crafts, such as making angel necklaces using a paperclip, and prepared for their culminating event on Friday evening, when they shared their new and strengthened connections to faith with friends, family and members of the church. The middle-school age Girl Scouts in the group created decorations for the event— flower arrangements made from newspapers and tissue paper scraps, an example of using their resources wisely, a component of the Girl Scout Law.

Girl Scouts Cadence and Addison work on a
flower arrangement made of recycled materials.

For this series, Girl Scouts were welcomed into Knotts Island United Methodist Church by Pastor Diana Johnson, who has been with the church for two years and is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts. Pastor Johnson has been a Girl Scout volunteer for over 18 years and eagerly helped the girls through their My Promise, My Faith journey. She talked to the girls about how she incorporates the values of the Girl Scout Law into her own life, shared the long-standing history of Knotts Island United Methodist Church and helped girls think about what the Girl Scout Law and their faith have in common.

“Youth are a wonderful gift, and we need to help them develop positive attitudes and show them that they are important,” Pastor Johnson said. “By opening up the church for them to participate in Girl Scouts and explore their faith, the community is showing their support for the girls.”

As a way to give back to the community, the girls who participated in the series brought in food donations to help stock the food pantry at the church, which supports 18 families on Knotts Island.

For over 100 years, Girl Scouts has provided numerous opportunities for girls to grow in their respective faiths, as each girl is encouraged to develop her own strong values within the context of family, faith and the Girl Scout Promise and Law.

What We DoWe serve nearly 10,000 girls throughout southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. With the guidance of nearly 5,000 dedicated and trained volunteers, girls discover the fun, friendship, and power of girls together.